Prevention 52 fire helmet
December 2012

TAKE ACTION!

What's your favorite fire and life safety violation from the movie?

 

Participate in the discussion on the NPS Fire and Aviation Management Facebook page.

Did you know?  

Did you know that the 'electric cat' scene was nearly cut out of the movie? Studio executives feared it might offend some viewers, but it stayed in the movie once the test audience scored it as their favorite scene in the entire movie.

What is Prevention 52?

 

Its intent is to educate and empower all NPS employees to help prevent structural fires.

 

It is a relevant fire prevention message every week of the year...

52 to be exact!

The Structural Fire Program has many resources to help you provide an effective fire prevention program in your park.
 
Visit our website at:

Regional Structural Fire Managers:
Alaska - Alan Wetzel
Intermountain - Todd Neitzel
Midwest - Kip Schwabe
National Capital - Don Boucher
Northeast - Joe Mazzeo
Northeast Fire Prevention Specialist - Donna Baumgaertner
Pacific West - Curtis Troutt
Southeast - Jim King

For more fire prevention resources go to: NFPA
Submit your ideas and feedback about Prevention 52 to: [email protected]

 

P52 Editor: Kathy Komatz

 

Previous P52 messages can be accessed at: Prevention 52

 

Structural Fire is one of six branches within the NPS Division of Fire and Aviation Management. Learn more at: www.nps.gov/fire

Holiday lights
 

Name the holiday movie with the quote:

"If that cat had nine lives, it sure used 'em all"?

Holiday Safety Tips From Hollywood

By Mark Gorman, Structural Fire Operations Program Manager

 

Ah, the holiday season is upon us. This time of year is filled with decorations, family, favorite foods, and possibly some unorthodox traditions, such as your favorite holiday movie. And I must admit that one of my favorites is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

 

You might be asking yourself, what does this have to do with fire and life safety? Clearly, you have never seen the movie. So pull up a mug of eggnog and add to your holiday experience (though hopefully your experience will be less cinematic than the Griswold's). Regardless of the holiday traditions you celebrate, there are many fire safety lessons we can learn from the movie: 

  1. Christmas Tree Safety. Let's avoid tree fires by keeping live Christmas trees fresh with lots of water. Like the Griswolds, you never know when that ignition source may come along and ruin your entire holiday experience.
  2. Extension Cord Safety. This is the time of year we become tempted to misuse extension cords to power decorations and lights. Follow these tips and give the family pets a fighting chance.
  3. Don't Go Overboard with Holiday Lights. So maybe 25,000 twinkling lights is a little much. Certainly by overloading circuits, hanging your lights with a staple gun, and using enough electricity to cause a city blackout, problems will happen. Even if your neighbor isn't Clark Griswold, holiday lights can cause fires, as seen in this news clip.
  4. Watch your waste. Trash, like wrapping paper, can become a fire starter.
  5. Address Crises Head-on. Take a lesson from something that Clark Griswold did get right. Stop, Drop and Roll. Look for this scene as you watch the movie. 

"Where do you think you're going?" yells Clark Griswold, "Nobody's leaving. Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here."

 

So next time you get frustrated when your holiday lights fail to glow, a relative catches fire, or you decide to ignore extension cord common sense, remember the timeless lessons the Griswolds have shown us, so your holiday season doesn't turn into a "four-alarm holiday emergency."

JUST FOR YOU
 

Employees

Think Operational Leadership. The barrage of fire and life safety issues in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation reminds us of the dangerous day-to-day risks and short cuts we all take. Let's constantly evaluate what we do to reduce the accident rate for the NPS.

 

Leadership

There are lots of funny moments to be had in this holiday classic film, but did you know that there are leadership lessons which can also be learned? Test your knowledge of the Griswold's mishaps and see if you can identify some of the important leadership lessons. How do these principles apply to improving fire and life safety for the NPS?

On behalf of all of us at NPS Structural Fire, have a safe holiday season!